Nor'easter pushes Atlantic City past snowiest January on record

A man pushes his way through a winter snowstorm in Atlantic City, N.J., Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018. Residents of Atlantic City woke up Friday, Jan 28, 2022, with a blizzard warning in effect as the second major snowstorm of the season threatened the coastal resort town. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Residents of New Jersey woke up Saturday morning to more than a foot of snow along the coast and dramatic wind gusts as a major nor'easter pounded the region -- and forecasters say the Garden State still has a ways to go before final snow measurements will be gathered.

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, snowfall amounts of 10-14 inches were reported by midmorning Saturday with winds frequently gusting to 40 mph. By the time the last flake falls by Saturday night, up to 18 inches can accumulate, significantly disrupting travel and causing major power outages as the strong winter storm rapidly deepens offshore. This latest winter storm is the second major snowstorm to hit Atlantic City this month. Just after the beginning of the new year, a winter storm bombarded Atlantic City with 13 inches of snow.

This January has now become the snowiest in the city's history, surpassing the record of 20.3 inches that fell in January 1987. A final tally for this month's snowfall will be determined once the latest snowstorm winds down.

The storm is also on track to become one of the top snowstorms the city has ever had. That record is currently held by the Boxing Day snowstorm in 2010, which dumped 20.1 inches of snow on the city. To break the top 5, 17.1 inches or more snow would need to be recorded, which would break or tie the amount of snow that fell in the city on Nov. 19, 1979.

On average, Atlantic City gets 17.4 inches of snow over the course of a season, a total it could break with this blizzard alone. Prior to this storm, the city has received 17.2 inches of snow so far this year, 210% more than it usually has received by this point in the winter.

It is not out of the question that this snowstorm will make this winter one of the top 10 snowiest on record with plenty of winter left in the year. To break into the top 10, the city will need to get 16.1 inches of snow, which falls on the upper end of AccuWeather's forecast of 12-18 inches.

This snowstorm has already pushed the season's snow totals into the top 15 of all time, as it took only 7.9 inches of snow to overcome that hurdle.

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small had a colorful way of telling people to stay indoors as the first blizzard since 2018 is set to move through the area.

"This is truly one of those Netflix-and-chill type of weekends," he said in a press conference.

In other parts of coastal New Jersey, weather enthusiasts like Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Mike Trout, a South Jersey native, were trying to will the storm farther inland. The baseball superstar posted a gif of a weather map on Twitter this week with an image of himself, in full Angels uniform, tugging the nor'easter westward so as to bring heavier snow totals farther inland.

Trout, a well-known weather enthusiast, grew up in Millville, New Jersey, about a 50-minute drive inland from Atlantic City. However, snow totals are expected to be significantly less there, with accumulations of 6-12 inches forecast.

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